Foam prevention apparatus for carbonated beverage bottling machines



Oct. 12, 1954 s. J. SABALAUSKAS 2,691,477

FOAM PREVENTION APPARATUS FOR CARBONATED BEVERAGE BOTTLING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 14, 1949 VALVE cum I I I I I 2A f jflytifl i IIZ ZQ 51g BY Z Oct. 12, 1954 s. J. SABALAUSKAS 2,691,477

FOAM PREVENTION APPARATUS FOR CARBONATED BEVERAGE BOTTLING MACHINES Filed on. 14, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Stem/e y :[SfiiZkas w E w 4 s E 5 Z R m W C 8 6 4( v .I... IXHH\ a WM MHZ: I o E. E UU /Vfll M a w w Patented Oct. 12, 1954 FOAM PREVENTION APPARATUS FOR CAR- BONATED BEVERAGE BOTTLING CHTNES Stanley J. Sabalauskas, Philadelphia, Pa., as-

signor to Sweetie Beverages, Inc., Philadelphia,

Application October 14, 1949, Serial No. 121,409

3 Claims.

My invention relates to machines for making and bottling carbonated beverages, and relates particularly to an apparatus for preventing the formation of foam while the bottles are being filled.

The invention is used in conjunction with beverage bottling machines having filler valves of the type described in Patent No. 2,145,765 issued to George J. Huntley and Robert J. Stewart.

In this type of bottling machine, each empty bottle is first conducted under a syrup filling head which injects a certain quantity of syrup containing flavoring material into the bottle. Following this, the bottle is conducted under a combination counterpressure and carbonated water filler valve. This combination filler valve first charges the bottle with counterpressure carbon dioxide gas to a pressure of 10 to 100 pounds per square inch, and then fills the bottle almost to the top with carbonated Water while simultaneously venting the counterpressure gas. The bottle then moves under a crowning mechanism and is then conveyed away to be placed in boxes for shipment.

In using machines of this type, I have found that the contents of the bottle often foams and erupts in an objectionable manner before the bottle can be capped. This results in a waste of beverage, and it also leaves the bottles partly empty, so that they cannot be sold.

There are several reasons why foaming and eruption occur in carbonated Water. To begin, the carbon dioxide gas is in a highly unstable solution with the Water. The gas is easily disassociated from the water by:

1. Heat, or at least a difference in temperature between the syrup and the carbonated water.

2. Mechanical vibration, shock, and sudden starting and stopping.

3. Difference of pressure between the liquid and the bottle interior.

4. The catalytic action of the syrup upon the carbonated water.

By careful design of the machine, the bottling process has been made continuous; i. e. free from starting and stopping. Accordingly, the mechanical operation of the machine is relatively smooth, and foaming from mechanical agitation has been largely eliminated.

In addition, it is now customary to heat-insulate the carbonated water reservoir and to maintain the syrup at the same temperature as the carbonated water, so that little foaming occurs from this source.

By charging the bottle with gas under pressure, i. e., counterpressure, before filling the botencounters no loss in pressure as it flows into the bottle. After the bottle is filled, the counterpressure is removed by venting the gas back into the reservoir, and disassociation of the gas from the carbonated Water then takes place very slow ly in the bottle.

The chief remaining cause of foaming and eruption in uncapped bottles of carbonated beverage is the catalytic action of the syrup upon the carbonated Water. This catalytic action is present in all syrups, although certain fiavorings are more active than others in promoting disassociation.

If the syruped bottles can be quietly filled with carbonated water in such a Way that the syrup and the carbonated water do not mix, then the only contact of the liquids with each other is at the interface, and this area of contact is insufficient to produce objectionable foaming and eruption.

The filling valve used in the machines described in the aforementioned Patent No. 2,145,765 is a complicated structure which has passages therein communicating with the carbonated water reservoir, after the injection of the syrup, for the flow of 1. Counterpressure gas into the bottle.

2. Carbonated water into the bottle.

3. counterpressure gas back into the reservoir (i. e. for venting).

The valve also has passages therein communieating with the atmosphere for shifting the bottles after the counterpressure return passage to the reservoir has been closed.

While a bottle is being filled with carbonated water, a considerable amount of water flows from the filled bottle back toward the reservoir through the counterpressure venting passage. When the flow of water is stopped, and the filling valve is moved from filling position to shifting position, the water which has flowed upwardly through the vent passage will be trapped in the vent passage. When the filled bottle is moved away from the filling valve and an empty bottle is positioned under the same valve for filling, the water which has been trapped in the vent passage will flow down into the second bottle during the step of establishing counterpressure in this bottle, since the passage which is used as a vent passage during the filling step is also used as a'pressure flow passage during the counterpressure step. The flow of any carbonated water into the bottle ahead of the counterpressure gas is extremely. undesirable, since the pressure of the counter pressure gas causes the water to be sprayed into the bottle with considerable force, and causes dissociation of the carbonated water. When the sprayed carbonated water strikes the syrup, its foaming is aggravated by the aforementioned catalytic action of the flavored syrup. As a result, the inner walls of the bottle are spattered with a highly active mixture of bubbling carbonated water and syrup, and when the bottle is next filled with carbonated water in the filling step, this active mixture promptly causes the violent dissociation and eruption of the freshly added carbonated water.

In the past, efforts have been made to correct this undesirable eruption by making the valve passages and the tube leading back to the reservoir as small as possible so that the volume of carbonated water trapped therein is as small as possible. However, there is a practical limit to how small the passages and tubing may be made while still permitting proper filling, and the undesirable eruption is initiated by very small quantities of carbonated water blown down by the counterpressure gas.

Accordingly, the principal object of my invention is to completely eliminate the carbonated water trapped in the filling valv passages and tube, thereby eliminating the foaming and eruption caused by this source.

In my invention, I accomplish this result by utilizing a small quantity of counterpressure gas from the machine to blow the filling valves clear after the valves leave the filled bottles, and before the valves are in position over the empty bottles to be filled.

Another object of my invention is to provide a mechanism for accomplishing the above result which may be easily applied to new machines or to old machines now in use.

Other objects of my invention are to provide an improved device of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly efficient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, my invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, a will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary schematic plan view of a filling machine embodying my invention.

In Figs. 2A to 2D, I show a fragmentary side elevation of a portion of the filling table, showing the action or" my valve clearing mechanism, wherein:

Fig, 2A represents the valve arm approaching the first clearing trip.

Fig. 2B shows the valve arm moved by the first clearing trip into counterpressure position.

Fig. 2C shows the valve arm approaching the second clearing trip.

Fig. 2D shows the valve arm being moved by the second clearing trip back to shifting position.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation view of a conventional filler valve with which my invention coacts, showing the various operating positions of the valve arm.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the filler valve in filling position, showing the passages through which the counterpressure gas is vented, and also showing the filling reservoir in sectional outline.

Fig. 5 is a detailed, partly-sectional side elevation view of one of the two trips used in the invention. Both of the trips are of similar construction; on the machine, however, one trip is inverted with respect to the other.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts, I show a machine for bottling carbonated beverages, comprising a rotary reservoir, generally designated as A, to which are attached a number of identical filling heads, each generally designated as B. The reservoir and filling heads are arranged to rotate clockwis in the particular machine shown. The incoming bottles contain flavored syrup only. Each bottle, generally designated as C, is conducted by the infeed spider I!) under a filling head B and as the bottle moves around the periphery of the reservoir, the valve l2 of each filling head is operated by successive trips placed on a stationary rail i l encircling the reservoir.

The first trip, identified as Counterpressurc Trip in Fig. 1, moves the valve arm it to counterpressure position, as shown in Fig. 5. In this position of the valve arm, the filling head charges the bottle with counterpressure gas through tub ing 25. Th valve arm it next encounters the Filling Trip, which moves the arm to the filling position shown in Fig. 3. In this position car bonated water flows from the bottom of reservoir A into the bottle through tubing 33 while the counterpressure gas is vented back into the top of the reservoir, through passages iii, 22, and Ed in the filling valve, and through the tubing 2-3. After the bottle has been filled to the desired level, the valve arm 48 encounters the Snifter Trip which moves the valve arm to the shifting position shown in Fig. 3. In this position, the gag remaining in the bottle is vented out into the atmosphere, rather than back to the reservoir. However, the interior passages 2E), 22, and 24 of the valve, shown in Filling position in Fig. 4, are blocked and some carbonated water is trapped in these passages 29, 22, and 2 3, and also in the tubing 25 communicating with the reservoir A. It is this trapped carbonated water which is ordinarily blown down into the next syruped bottle by the counterpress re gas, but which I remove by the use of two additional valve arm trips, generally designated as D and E and called Valve Clearing Trips in Fig. 1.

After the bottles have been filled and shifted, they separate from the filling heads. and are conducted away from the filling table by the outfeed spider 28 to a capping machine (not shown). As soon as a rotating filiing head separates from the filled bottles, it successively encounters the valve-clearing trips D and E, mounted on the stationary rail i l. The first trip D engage the valve arm i6, see Fig. 2A, turning the arm from Shifting position to Counterpressure position, as shown in Fig. 2B. Counterpressure gas now flows from the top of reservoir A through the tubing 26 and the valve passage 23, 22, and 2G, scavenging the carbonated water trapped therein during the preceding venting operation. As the filling head continues to rotate, it encounters the second trip E (see Fig. 26) which returns the valve arm to the Shifting position, see Fig. 2D, blocking the further flow of counterpressure gas. Upon further rotation, the filling valve moves over and upon a syruped bottle, and recommences the cycle of l. Counterpressure 2. Filling and venting 3. Snifting 4i. Valve clearing It should be observed that the clearing of any trapped carbonated water in the pip 26 and the valve passages 20, 22 and 2 5 enables only the counterpressure gas to mingle with the syrup thereby eliminating foaming and objectionable erupting of the beverage when the carbonated water is subsequently introduced, leaves the bottle partly empty. The taste of the drink is not affected by my invention.

The construction of a suitable trip mechanism is shown in Fig. 5. Both trips D and E are of similar construction, but trip D is mounted on the underside of the rail M so as to engage the lower portion I6A of the valve arm [8, moving the .arm to counterpressure position. Trip E is mounted on the top of rail I 4 so as to engage the upper portion 163 of the valve arm, moving the arm back to Snifting position.

Each trip comprises a base 40 which is attached to the rail l4 by bolts, or by welding. A head 42, rotatably mounted on the base, carries a radially-extending roller 44 and also a handle 4'1. The head 42 is yieldably secured against rotation by a spring-pressed ball detent 46 which coacts with complementary recesses 48 and 59 in the base. When the detent 46 is seated in recess the roller projects so as to engage the valve arms I6 as the filling heads rotate. If the roller should encounter a filler head whose valve arm is frozen tight, the entire trip head is swung aside upon its base to inactive position, thereby preventing breakage of the trip or breakage of the valve. In this inactive position, the ball detent is seated in recess 50.

By means of the handle 41, the roller may be swung to the inactive position manually, so that the valve clearing mechanism can be inactivated when the machine is first being set up for operation.

The trips D and E? are spaced apart a sufiicient distance to allow the counterpressure gas to completely clear the valve passagesand the tubing which communicates with the reservoir. A larger spacing would merely waste counterpressure gas, while a reduced spacing would cause incomplete scavenging of the valve and. tubing. In practice, I have found that a spacing of six inces between the rollers of trips D and E gives good results at normal operating speed of the machine.

Although my invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a filling machine for filling bottles with carbonated beverages, a turntable, a circular platform spaced from and surrounding said turntable, a conveying means associated with said turntable for continuously delivering bottles thereto, a second conveying means spaced from. said first conveying means and associated with said turntable for continuously removing filled bottles therefrom, a plurality of filling heads extending from said turntable into the space between said turntable and said platform each being adapted to convey a bottle from said first to said second conveying means, a reservoir on said turntable, said reservoir being adapted to be partially filled with liquid and with a gas under pressure above said liquid, a plurality of tubes, each leading from the bottom of said reservoir to one of said filling heads, a plurality of tubes, each leading from the top of said reservoir to one of said filling heads, a valve means in each of said filling heads, each valve means having .a fluid connection with a tube leading from the bottom of said reservoir and with a tube leading from the top of said reservoir, a pair of off-set levers connected to each of said valve means, means to actuate each of said valves to fill its associated bottle with a carbonated beverage, and a pair of trips positioned on said platform between said second and first conveying means, extending into the path of said levers and adapted to contact one or the other of said levers after .a bottle conveyed by its associated filler head has been removed by said second conveying means, one of said trips being adapted to actuate one of said levers to move its associated valve means into a position wherein the tube leading from the top of said reservoir is opened to atmosphere and the other of said trips being adapted to actuate the other of said levers to move said valve means into a position wherein the tube leading from the top of said reservoir is opened to atmosphere and the other of said trips being adapted to actuate the other of said levers to move said valve means into a position wherein the tube leading from the top of said reservoir is shut off from atmosphere.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein each of said trips comprises a roller rotatably mounted on a stem which is mounted on a head connected to said platform.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said head is mounted for rotation to said platform, a springpressed detent releasably restraining said head from rotation and a handle on said head to rotate said head against the force of said detent, whereby said roller may be swung into an inactive position outside the path of said levers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 747,729 Koeddink Dec. 22, 1903 1,985,767 De Markus Dec. 25, 1934 2,145,765 Huntley et a1. Jan. 31, 1939 2,187,332 Sinz Jan. 16, 1940 2,202,033 Stewart et al. May 28, 1940 2,239,385 Harder Apr. 22, 1941 2,367,899 Stewart Jan. 23, 1945 

